Heavy fighting continues in the
Marshall Islands. The fighting on Namu is particularly serious. Japanese
positions on Roi are being mopped up. Meanwhile, the 7th Infantry division lands
on Kwajalein and overrun the Japanese in heavy fighting.

Major Fritz Kurschera, chief of the
Gestapo in Poland is assassinated by the Polish underground.

The Red Army continues to attack on the
eastern front. Kingisepp falls in the north and spearheads are at the Estonian
border. Model attempts to launch counterattacks at Luga and Utorgosh, but they
fail to make an impression.

Roi and Namur are cleared of Japanese
forces. 3700 Japanese are killed defending the islands while the Americans lost
740 dead and wounded. Mopping up operations continue on Kwajalein.

In the north, Red Army forces enter
Estonia and capture Vanakula. To the South, 4th Ukrainian Front joins the
offensive against Nikopol, threatening to surround the German 6th Army defending
the area.

Lucas calls off attacks to break out of
the Anzio beachhead as it becomes obvious that the Germans are in great strength
and preparing their own counter attack. Unknown to the Allies, the Germans had
intended on launching those attacks this very day, but the Allied attacks had
disrupted those plans.

Japanese forces in the Arakan begin
Operation Ha-Go, a major counterattack against British forces.

German forces begin probing attacks
against the British 1st Division at Anzio, attacking the exposed position around
Campoleone. To the south, the US 5th Army is reinforced by the New Zealand Corps
and is deployed opposite Cassino.

Fighting continues in the Marshall
Islands as US Navy aircraft hit Eniwetok in heavy raids and troops are landed on
Burton Island in the Kwajalein Atoll.

The Japanese defenses on Kwajalein
Atoll end as all but 265 of the 8700 man garrison are killed. American losses
were 370 killed and 1500 wounded.

German forces open up serious attacks
against the British 1st Division, forcing them back. To the south, the US 34th
Infantry Division captures two important peaks near Colle Sant'Angelo.

Von Manstein masses four panzer
divisions and an ad hoc heavy tank brigade under Bake and opens his
counterattack to relieve their comrades at Korsun. The forces was denuded of the
full strength 24th Panzer division at the last minute as Hitler personally
intervened and sent it south to help at Nikopol. In the end the 24th Panzer
would waste it's fuel and supplies slugging through mud marching to no purpose.

The Chinese 38th and 22nd Divisions,
augmented by Merrill's Marauders, attack along the Ledo Road in the Hukawng
River Valley in northern Burma. In western Burma, Japanese forces continue and
intensify their attacks against the British forces hoping to drive them back
into India.

The Allies open a new front in Burma
sending Orv Wingate's Chindits on a "deep penetration" raid into north
central Burma. This overland march is to be supported by massive airdrops after
the 16th Brigade establishes a base deep in the Japanese rear near Idaw.

As the German counterattack to relieve
the Korsun pocket continues, 1st Ukrainian Front continues to drive west against
the greatly depleted 4th Panzer Army, capturing Rovno and Lutsk. The German
forces inside the pocket are designated Group Stemmermann (after the senior
commander). The Germans begin air resupply missions to their trapped forces and
have limited success. Soviet attacks begin to reduce the pocket. To compound
difficulties for both sides, the temperature plummets to well below zero
throughout the battle area.

Japanese attacks in the Arakan force
the British to retreat. Unlike the 1942 campaign, they are pulling back into
defensive "boxes" rather than retreating en-mass. The new tactics are
beginning to frustrate the Japanese who expected the British to flee.

The attacks by 3rd Ukrainian Front
capture Manganets and Apostolovo east and west of Nikopol, threatening to cut
off the Germans there.

Group Stemmermann, under continuous
pressure from Soviet attacks, contracts its perimeter, abandoning Gorodische and
Yanovka, and prepares for a breakout attack. Meanwhile, the break-in attack
continues against very heavy resistance.

The German attacks at Anzio intensify
as the British positions at Aprilla and "The Factory" are hit hard.
The British 56th and US 45th Infantry Divisions are landed at Anzio and move to
the front.

The Germans continue to launch attacks
against the Anzio beachhead, once again hitting the British 1st Infantry
Division hardest. In heavy fighting, Aprilia is lost to the Germans, but
"The Factory" continues to be held.

The Germans redouble their efforts to
fly supplies into the Korsum Pocket, delivering about half the daily requirement
the trapped forces needed. Exit flights were able to evacuate some of the
seriously wounded.

Having finally assembled an effective
force, 3rd Panzer Corps begins its attacks to relieve the German forces trapped
at Korsun.

Heavy fighting continues at Anzio as
the Germans continue their attacks. The Allied troops give ground, loosing
"The Factory". For the first time, talk turns to plans to evacuate the
beachhead. Further to the south, The US 34th Division makes one last attempt to
take the monetary at Cassino. It fails. The exhausted American forces are
replaced by Indian and New Zealand troops at Casino.

Red Army forces capture the important
communications center of Luga, 100 miles southwest of Leningrad as their
offensive continues to drive Army Group North west. In the south, The German
relief force heading toward Korsun meets ever stiffening resistance.

US Marines take Gorissi in the Bismarck
Archipelago.

Fighting at Casino pauses as the entire
US 2nd Corps is replaced by the New Zealand Corps. At Anzio, the British 1st
Infantry Division is also withdrawn due to exhaustion. Lucas orders the
construction of a last ditch defensive perimeter.

Allied forces, mistakenly assuming that
the Germans occupy the monastery at Cassino warn the Italian monks that the
dominant feature will be bombed.

Unable to break the British
"boxes" in the Arakan, Japanese forces begin to pull back and the
British pursue.

Soviet forces continue their offensive
out of the Leningrad area capturing Polna and Lyady. To the south, the trapped
Germans at Korsun contract their perimeter and concentrate forces for a breakout
attempt. The break-in force meets heavy resistance and makes little headway

The Supreme Headquarters Allied
Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) is established in Britian with Eisenhower at its
head.

Heavy fighting continues at Korsun as
the relief force meets ever stiffening resistance and makes little headway. The
perimeter of the pocket continues to shrink as the Soviet forces capture
Kosun-Sevchenkosky against the determined resistance of the SS Walloon Brigade.

The 3rd New Zealand Division supported
by the US TF 39, makes landings in the Green Islands north of Bougainville in
the Solomons.

The monastery at Monte Casino is
destroyed as US bombers drop 422 tons of bombs on the historic location. The
Allies thought that the Germans were using it as an observation post for
artillery fire. They were not. After its destruction, the Germans quickly moved
into the rubble and fortified the position. The bombardment is followed by an
attack by the New Zealand Corps which makes no headway.

As the situation in the north and south
continues to deteriorate, Hitler allows Army Group Center to withdraw to the
Panther Line. He also, grudgingly gives permission to attempt a breakout from
the Korsun pocket.

RAF Bomber Command launches a massive
891 bomber raid on Berlin, the largest to date. 2,642 tons of bombs were
delivered to the city. Over a thousand fires were started and 500 civilians were
reported killed or buried in the rubble. Civilian losses were minimized because
of the massive evacuation from the city caused by previous raids. 43 British
bombers were lost in the raid. This raid was the climax of the "Battle of
Berlin"

Fighting at Anzio intensifies as
Kesselring throws a force of seven divisions into the attack hitting the US 45th
and British 56th Divisions hard. German aircraft lend strong support to the
attacks and hit allied shipping as well. The ammunition ship Elihu Yale is
destroyed in one air attack. At Cassino, the New Zealanders continue to throw
themselves against the German paratroops and make little headway.

Finish and Soviet authorities meet in
Stockholm, Sweden to discuss terms for an armistice.

US Naval forces from TG 58.4 launch a
massive raid on Eniwotok Island in the Marchall Island Chain destroying the
Japanese airfield at Engebi.

Elements of the German 3rd Panzer Corp
are stopped 12 miles from the perimeter of the Korsun Pocket They have captured
a bridge over the Gniloy Tikich River but, are exhausted and conclude that any
further action would be fruitless. The 56,000 men of Group Stemmermann inside
the pocket are ordered to prepare for a breakout attempt.

The End At Korsun: Lead by the remnants
of the elite 5th SS Panzer Division, Group Stemmermann launches their attempt to
break out of the Korsun Pocket. In a blinding snowstorm they manage to find a
seam in the Soviet defenses. At dawn, the weather clears and the Soviet cavalry
and aircraft pounce on the columns of fleeing Germans. Having abandoned their
heavy equipment, the breakout turns into a rout as desperate men flee from the
carnage. General Stemmermann was killed in action along with many of his men.
The Russian attacks force many of the refugees away from the bridge over the
Gniloy Tikich River. When the fugitives reached the bank, many chose to swim the
near freezing river rather than be captured. In the end, some did escape.
Estimates vary greatly. Around 35,000 men escaped. They had little other than
their personal weapons and often not even that. In the final analysis, the
escapees were badly shaken and any semblance of organization had evaporated. The
Germans had lost 10 divisions for some time to come.

The Germans continue their
counterattack against the Anzio beachhead hitting the US 45th Division
particularly hard. Although both sides suffered heavy losses, the Germans came
very near a decisive breakthrough to the beach. US artillery units firing over
open sights from the beach and ships off shore managed to stop and turn back the
German drive.

At Casino, the 4th Indian Division
managed to capture a part of the Cassino defenses (Point 593) but it was lost to
German counterattacks.

US TF 51.11 lands on Eniwetok Atoll in
the Marshall Islands. Three battleships and 3 carriers provide support for the
landing against the Japanese garrison of 3400 troops.

A US destroyer force raids Rabaul and
Kavieng in the Bismarck Archipelago.

A major grouping of US naval forces
under Admiral Spruance (9 carriers and 6 battleships) attacks the Japanese base
at Truk in the Caroline Islands.

The British cruiser HMS Penelope is
torpedoed by U-410 off the coast of Italy between Naples and Anzio. She would be
the last cruiser the British would loose in the war.

At Anzio, the German attacks appear to
be weakening but massed artillery and off-shore support are still needed to
stabilize the situation in the beachhead. Meanwhile, attacks at Casino are
called off to refit, rest and reform.

Attacks in the north of the eastern
front continue to make progress as the Soviet 2nd Baltic Front captures
Starayya-Russa and the Volkhov Front takes Shimsk. In the south, 1st and 2nd
Ukrainian Fronts begin regrouping for fresh offensives as the Germans pull away
from their exposed positions created from the break-in attempt.

Japanese forces counterattack the US
beachhead at Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll. The attacks are crushed by artillery
and off-shore fire.

The last German reserves, the 26th
Panzer and 29th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, are committed to the attack at Anzio.
Once again, they make some gains but are stopped by a wall of artillery and
naval gunfire. To the south, Indian and New Zealand forces of the US 5th Army
attempt to attack the hill masses north of Monte Cassino but are bloodily
repulsed.

US Naval forces continue to pummel the
Japanese base at Truk in the Caroline Islands, hitting the area with 1250
sorties. In addition to the losses at the base, 140,000 tons of Japanese
shipping including a cruiser and 2 destroyers are sunk. In a surface action, the
battleships Iowa and New Jersey sink an additional cruiser and 2 more
destroyers. US forces claim the destruction of 250 aircraft as well. Losses to
the US forces are minimal (30 aircraft lost and the carrier Intrepid damaged).

RAF Bomber command launches a massive
823 heavy bomber raid against Leipzig which meets with disaster as 78 planes
were lost in the raid. Damage to the city was minimal as clouds covered the
target and high winds dispersed the bomber stream

German counterattacks end as both sides
regroup and refit.

US forces land a regimental force at
Eniwotok Atoll which meets with fierce Japanese resistance despite heavy
preliminary bombardment

"The Big Week" starts: For
the first time in the war, RAF and USAAF operations are coordinated. On this
first day, 970 USAAF bombers hit Hamburg, Leipzig and Braunschweig in daylight
raids and these are followed by 598 RAF bombers dropping 2000 tons of bombs on
Stuttgart.

The Soviet 2nd Baltic Front launches a
fresh set of attacks against the much-diminished German 16th Army around Kholm.
The Soviet 22nd Army makes good progress in the initial assault.

Japanese resistance on Eniwetok Atoll
continues as US naval airpower raids jaluit Atoll and surface forces bombard
Parry island in the Marshall Islands.

The Artic convoys from Britain to
Russia begin to dominate their German adversaries as the latest convoy (JW-57
with 43 merchants) comes through with no merchant losses. The only loss was the
destroyer Mahratta sunk by U-956.

The "Big Week" continues as
the USAAF hits the Me-109 factories at Regensburg and Augsburg with 980 bombers
losing 65 bombers and 8 fighters. German losses were 142 aircraft and nearly
1000 planes on the assembly lines were destroyed. RAF bombers followed up with
attacks on Augsburg.

One
of the finest commanders in the Red Army, Marshal Nikolai Vatutin, is killed in
an ambush by Ukrainian nationalist partisans while en route to the Soviet 60th
Army. Stalin appointed Marshall Gregori Zhukov as the new commander of the 1st
Ukrainian Front.